Album Review: Contrabajo, Works for Bass and String from Pablo Aslan
Album: Contrabajo, Works for Bass and String Artist: Pablo Aslan Label: Self-Released Website: www.pabloaslan.com Serene, lulling, and operatic, the playing of acoustic bassist Pablo Aslan can bring a tear to one's eyes and simultaneously lift one's spirit and incite joy in one's heart. His latest recording Contrabajo, Works for Bass and String Quartet is a superbly arranged collection of mindful soliloquies, symphonies, and discourse. Track after track, the listener feels like the music is playing out an opera with the dramatic phrasing of the strings and reflexive voicing of Aslan's bass notes. The symphonic lift in the instrumentation is penetrating and holds the audience in rapt attention. The swivels and squiggles of Paquito D’ Rivera's clarinet scampering across "Tanguajira" has the intensity of a tango fused with the fluidity of a choreographed ballet. The strings played by the Cuarteto Petrus quartet turns mournful and crestfallen...